Making A Case For Parks And Recreation - This I Believe

By: Matt Carusona
PRTM 500 - North Carolina State University

12.3.17

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Reflection: For this assignment we were asked to develop and articulate a personal philosophy of recreation that integrates the philosophical, ethical, historical, social, and cultural foundations of leisure as they pertain to personal and professional interests. The “This I Believe” essay is a concept adapted from the popular radio series of Edward Murrow. Murrow encouraged people to write and speak about the core beliefs that guide their daily lives. In this iteration, we will narrow the focus a bit. Using the This I Believe, format we were asked to reflect upon, critically evaluate, and articulate the core beliefs we hold about recreation, leisure, sport, and/or tourism. For my paper I focused on the importance of access to parks and recreation, with the concept, “Making A Case For Parks And Recreation”.  Through this assignment, I researched and defined recreation and leisure and their importance as they relate to health and wellness, building stronger communities through social equity and capital, and the importance of recreation and leisure’s economic impact.  Access to recreation and leisure correlates with a community's, social capital, equity and health. Understanding how recreation, leisure, social justice and equity, and health intersect is vital to understanding why parks and recreation are the most essential, non-essential services. I used the definitions and ideas to develop my motivating factors for pursuing this degree and developed my personal philosophy statement, the core of the This I believe” paper. My professional philosophy is that recreation and leisure makes lives better. Furthermore, access to leisure and recreation should be equitable. Recreation and leisure is a right of all citizens and is the duty of park, recreation and leisure profession to develop programs, policy, planning and infrastructure that helps to enable equitable access. I am uniquely positioned to engage, empower and bring park, recreation and leisure professionals together to advance the profession, and find innovative solutions to enable equitable access to leisure and recreation. Finally, we identified how our philosophy could be implemented in the field and through our work. This assignment helped me review and validate my motivation for pursuing this degree and career in this field. The assignment also helped me identify areas within the field I am most interested in; health and wellness, social equity and capital, and positive economic impact, through innovative planning and placemaking.